Washington Blade - April 26, 2002

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York State Assembly is considering legislation requiring the state corrections commissioner to develop comprehensive STD and HIV prevention programs in state prisons, which have the highest rate of HIV in the nation. "We have 70,000 people in our state prisons. Preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV in our prisons protects the people in the communities to which the inmates will return when they leave prison, and the inmates themselves," said Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), who introduced the measure earlier this month. "Prisons represent an invaluable opportunity to educate a population at great risk for HIV infection," Catherine Hanssens, AIDS project director for the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, said in a written statement. "Protecting those on the inside ultimately protects those on the outside, who inevitably suffer the consequences of inadequate prison prevention programs and the lack of access to condoms."

Budget crisis in Mass. forces cuts in HIV programs

BOSTON -- The stateÆs evolving budget crisis has forced reductions in the budget of the Massachusetts HIV/AIDS Bureau, including cuts in food, substance-abuse treatment and social workers, the Boston Globe reported. Facing significant budget deficits, the state has reduced its spending on HIV services by 20 percent from its previous budget year and returned spending to 1997 levels, even though the population requiring services has increased 30 percent since 1997. "We have really decimated programs," Jean Flatley McGuire, director of the state HIV/AIDS Bureau, told the Globe. "And all of the signals we get are of very grave concerns of what is going to be available in the coming budget year." Massachusetts has been a pioneer in providing comprehensive services to people with HIV for many years, and is now confronted with the practical reality of tight fiscal constraints.

Oral drug treats eye Illness in AIDS patients

ATLANTA -- Oral treatment with the drug Valcyte (valganciclovir) appears to be as effective as its cousin ganciclovir, which is administered intravenously, for delaying the progression of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in AIDS patients, according to a study in the recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters reported. Valcyte is the first orally administered therapy approved for CMV retinitis and is converted to ganciclovir in the body. CMV is a member of the herpesvirus family that in an AIDS patient, can effect not only the retina of the eye, but also the colon, where it causes diarrhea, and the esophagus, where it impairs the patientÆs ability to swallow. Dr. Daniel F. Martin, a researcher at the Emory University School of Medicine, and colleagues compared the effectiveness of the two medications. MartinÆs team split 160 AIDS patients newly diagnosed with CMV retinitis into two groups. One group received oral doses of Valcyte, while the other was treated with intravenous ganciclovir. "Orally administered valganciclovir appears to be as effective as intravenous ganciclovir forà treatment and is convenient and effective for long-term management of CMV retinitis in patients with AIDS," the researchers concluded.

National AIDS conference set for June in Washington

WASHINGTON -- AIDS Watch 2002, an annual HIV/AIDS grassroots advocacy event, is scheduled to take place June 9-11, 2002, in Washington, D.C. The conference is sponsored by AIDS Action, the National Association of People with AIDS and the National Minority AIDS Council. AIDS Watch 2002, the largest annual constituent-based federal HIV/AIDS lobbying and education event in the nation, will include a day of education and advocacy training sessions followed by two days of visits with members of Congress, congressional staff and Administration officials. Participants will highlight the need for increased funding for HIV/AIDS programs, as well as advocate for policies impacting those people at risk or living with HIV/AIDS. There is no fee to register for the event. To register online, visit www.napwa.org/pubdocs/aidswatchreg.htm.

Bisexual youth at higher risk for injury, disease

CHICAGO -- High school students who report having sex with both male and female partners face a greater risk of injury and disease, and a greater risk of being injured or threatened with a weapon, engaging in violence, making a suicide attempt, using alcohol and other drugs, and using unhealthy weight control practices, according to an article in the April issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Dr. Leah Robin, an officials with the Division of Adolescent & School Health at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, and colleagues studied data from the 1995 and 1997 Vermont and Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Surveys to study associations between health risk behaviors and sexual experience with opposite-, same-, or both-sex partners in high school students. "Relative to opposite- and same-sex students, both-sex students may be at elevated risk of injury, disease, and death by experiencing serious harassment and engaging in violence, suicidal behavior, alcohol and other drug use, and unhealthy weight control practices," the authors state.

From staff and wire reports

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